1
No. 13 Vol. 1
T
he movie “Back to the Future,” about a boy who goes back in time, and by his being there causes issues for his future. This story is sort of like the movie. I feel like I was there and knew one day I would be back to where I started but do it even better by seeing all the things I had done the first time there. If you lived in the area
www.mypaperonline.com
January 18, 2017
Welcome to the First Edition of The Wayne HomeTown News Formerly Life and Leisure NJ.com
Back to the Future for Publishers anytime between 1987 and 2003 you might remember the local paper of that time. “The Independent News” and then “The Weekly News.” These were the area’s mailed community papers during that time. “The Weekly News” was owned by Joe Nicastro and his wife Mary Lalama and was a familiar read for the local residents until
2003 when the papers were sold. Fast forward to today. Joe and Mary are back. “The HomeTown News” formerly “Life and Leisure NJ” was purchased by them in late December. “HomeTown News” will be added to the other 14 publications that are published by their group, New View Media, LLC. in North Jersey.
Mary Lalama and Joe Nicastro. Over the past 30 years we have come full circle, Nicastro says. “I started in 1987 with the “Independent News” when community newspapers were everywhere,” he says. “Over the past 30 years I have seen a lot of changes in our industry as many other businesses have as well. The one thing that has come full circle is the fact that people came back to community newspapers, they want “local news.” In an age when the internet has killed the newspaper industry, community newspapers are thriving nationwide. Nicastro is quick to explain that newspapers and community newspapers are
two separate things. Most people do not pay for papers; they get that information online and the news is old. With technology, news is instant. Those papers have seen the drop in circulation. On the other hand community newspapers are strong. There is no real source of local news online yet. “Patch” as well as other online local sites are okay but they do not have the local down yet and still leave a large “local news” void in the markets they serve. People want local good family friendly content and we can provide that, Lalama says. “People are tired of the bad news they read and hear about,” she says.
“They want to get a publication that they can read and feel good about. That is what our publications provide. “Feel good” publications with articles on people in the communities that do good things. After selling the “Weekly News” in 2003 Nicastro and Lalama started a group of papers a little further west in Mt. Olive. Over the past 14 years that group has grown from two papers to 18. Over the next few months you will see more local content in the “HomeTown News” as well as some unique articles found only in our papers. All our publications are continued on page 2